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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM W. BISHOP, OF POWELLS STATION, TENNESSEE.

TYPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 499,507, dated June 13, 1893. Application filed June 24, 1892. Renewed April 13, 1893. Serial No- 470,255. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM W. BISHOP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Powells Station, in the county of Knox and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Types; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of'the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to movable types for printers use, and its object is to adapt the types to be supported right end up upon a carrier in the form of arule orlead,and to lessen the amount of metal used in each type.

To this end my invention consists in the construction of a type bifurcated at its lower end, as hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure I, is a perspective view of a type standing face upward and bifurcated according to my invention, and Fig. II, is a transverse vertical section of the same. Fig. III, is a perspective view of a rail adapted to hold the type.

In casting type according to my invention each type is to be made forked or bifurcated at the lower end, that is at the end opposite to the character or face 3 of the type. This bifurcation 4 is to be made crosswise of the type in the direction of the lines, so that the two feet 5 and 6 of each type will be one above the other in the direction of the column. The fork or separation 7 of the two legs should be high enough up toward the face of thetype to leave more than one-half of the weight of the type below the fork, in order that when a type or any number of types are placed with 7 their feet straddling a rule the feet will hang down and hold the type face-upward. The quads and spaces, or blank types, should be bifurcated in the same manner, but a little shorter. Types thus made will readily slide upon an inclined wire, or upon the edge of a rule so that they may be guided face upward to their proper position in line by a mechanical type-setting machine, and they may also be distributed from the lines to their respective boxes by sliding upon guiding rules or rails. The bifurcation furnishes a shoulderbeneath which a hook may be inserted to withdraw a single type, after separating it a little from its neighbor to afford space to insert the hook. Bifurcation also provides a space into which a rule may be inserted to remove a whole line of type, or a part of a line, to any other location in a column. This is an advantage over the usual method because every type being straddle of the rule no type can be tipped over or misplaced in any such act of removal. In the process of setting type by hand this bifurcation enables the type to be set upon a rule, from which a line may be bodily placed in a stick, or in a column, without danger of ever knocking down or misplacing any type. The bifurcation'isa matter of economy in saving a considerable percentage of the weight of type metal used in constructing each type, and of course making much less weight in the whole form when set up. Enough of the length of the type should be left solid or unbifurcated so that the type, when bound up in the form, will not have their legs crowded together and misshapen, because the preservation of perfectly parallel sides to type is positively necessary in the present method of imposing.

8 represents a nick on the inner side of one of the legs of the type which may be used to engage a rib on the side of a rule or rail whereby the types may be held for handstamping, and other purposes. v

9 represents a rail upon which a number of types may be placed and 10 is a rib projecting along the side of the rail to engage the nick Sin the type, whereby the type may be held upon the rail.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I believe to be new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is the following:

1. A printing type bifurcated upward from its feet past its center of gravity,'substantially as described.

2. A printing type bifurcated from its upward and notched on the innerside of of its legs, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM W. BISHOP.

feet

one

Witnesses:

G. S. W. MOOAMPBELL, L. O. HOUK. 

